rights now on msnbc, furious, last-minute negotiations very early this morning produced a predawn deal in the senate, averting most of the tax hikes and spending cuts that make up the so-called fiscal cliff. good morning. it's january 1st. welcome to a special new year's edition of "msnbc live." i'm chris jansing. of course, there is still one more very long bridge left to cross, and that is the house. they still have to weigh in on this before the bill becomes law. senate leaders from both parties said inaction, though, is not an option. >> i hope the new year will bring a new willingness on the part of the house republicans to join democrats in the difficult but rewarding work of government. >> we don't think taxes should be going up on anyone, but we all knew that if we did nothing, they'd be going up on everyone

today. >> luke russert is nbc's capitol hill correspondent. happy new year to you, my friend. >> reporter: happy new year to you, chris. you're certainly chirpy this morning. 5-hour energy going strong. >> i've never had so much coffee in a single two-hour period in my life. all right, it's been an exhausting 24 hours. weren't we just talking a few hours ago? bring us up to speed. where are we now? what happens next? >> reporter: well, we did pass the bill just a few hours ago in the early mornings of january 1st, and within that bill, take a look at what americans are waking up to today on the first day of 2013. if you make $400,000 or below or $450,000 or below as a couple, your taxes will not go up. the estate tax was a compromise. now it's about 40% of the estate as opposed to 35%. you have amt permanently patched, so the alternative minimum tax has been permanently fixed. you also see middle class tax cuts extended from the stimulus. unemployment benefits are extended for a year, which is

important to those unemployed right now. and the sequester cuts, the automatic defense cuts that got us into this mess from last year during the budget control act, they have been offset for two months. so, we can go back and forth with having the negotiations. bottom line is it passed out of the senate with 89 votes. now it's on its way to the house of representatives. as of right now, it's unclear whether or not this bill has a clear path through the house. and what do i mean by that? last night, speaker boehner sent out a statement saying the house reserves the right to amend this bill out of the senate. if there for some reason is a problem with this bill in the eyes of house republicans -- and they have been very leery of supporting anything they consider to be a tax hike -- they could change this bill. and after they do that, we do not know what happens next. it could go back to the senate, but we get into this sort of congressional ping pong. what i can tell you is republican leadership staff are going to try and tell their members today, since it's january 1st, so we've gone over

the so-called fiscal cliff. if you vote for this bill, it's a vote to lower taxes, not raise taxes. it's optics, it's semantics, but it's very important for house republicans. >> it's ridiculous is what it is. >> and we know that a lot of democrats will support this final package. so, nancy pelosi will bring her votes. >> although welch told me he didn't know whether or not he would support it. >> nancy pelosi has signed off on it. it's up to john boehner to deliver his votes and can he do it without amending it, we do not know at this time. >> all right, luke. thank you very much. >> take care. >> we'll see you soon, i'm sure. >> indeed. well, there's already been grumbling about this senate legislation from both sides of the aisle, but texas republican senator kay bailey hutchison says that is the essence of compromise. >> i don't love it, but i think it is a very good job of negotiating where there are some wins and some losses, and it's about even. >> with me now, the agreeos

political editor parry bacon and lynn sweet, washington bureau chief for "the chicago sun ti s times." lynn, we kept rerunning this video of you yesterday with speaker boehner walking along with your little pad. i don't know when that was from, but i saw you like 500 times yesterday. >> that was from the day before yesterday, prenew year, right there coming out of the caucus. anyway, happy new year, chris. >> happy new year! so, what do you think about all this? do you see this legislation as true compromise? >> well, oh, it is, and the 89-9 roll call through the senate shows it, but i want to make clear, it is a senate compromise. and as luke was saying, i don't know what with certainty that it will go through. the big deadline now really is noon on thursday, when the new congress is sworn in. you know, i'm betting it will go through because even though there are members on the left and the right that don't like this, move on said that they did not like the bill, there's going

to be enough members to have a bipartisan roll call, a rare thing in the house, if, if -- >> and does the house want to be seen as the ones who scuttled middle class tax cuts? >> some in the house do, yes. there are a lot of house republicans who are morally opposed to tax increases, and i think some of them will not agree to any kind of compromise like this, as it essentially is a tax increase, and some democrats didn't like how the deal was constructed, either, but i don't think the overall house will let this go. i think you'll find 118 reluctant votes in the house. a lot of house members don't like the details. many democrats didn't love all the details, but they're going to -- president obama has signed on to the deal, so that's going to push a lot of democrats over the line and they'll get enough votes today to get this passed. >> all right, let's say this gets done today, lynn. vice president biden reportedly told democrats, and we saw him going on the hill, i don't know what time, 10:00, 11:00 last night, that the real work is yet to come in march, when the sequester cuts will come up again, and of course, the debt

ceiling battle. how does what happened last night either pave the way for or impede the way to what happens in the spring? >> well, it sets it up. it's a kick of the can down the road. and one of the trade-offs that biden made was giving the restoring to republicans some of the leverage they lost right now. everyone knows that the big pressure to get the senate to act was that everyone's taxes was going to rise at midnight. now it's some people's, the wealthiest taxes. that was leverage. democrats won't have it again in a few weeks. that's another reason why some democrats thought biden maybe gave up too much ground. on the other hand, he put together a good deal in the senate. >> there have been complaints about the way the president negotiated, whether democrats gave up too much, but let's just all agree on one thing, perry, there's not a lot of love lost on either side and the divide is huge.

so, is there anything that can be done? is there any indication that this new congress will be any different? >> no. i think some of the calculations from "washington post," only 15 members of the house of representatives, of the republicans, are in districts that president obama won. what that means is most of these house republicans are very accountable to more conservative members in their districts and not necessarily looking for bipartisanship. so, i think the next fight will be just as bloody as this one was. one thing to note in terms of looking at who won, who won and who lost, which is going on a lot in washington. republicans in the last 20 years have said we do not support raising taxes on anyone ever. so at the core fundamental here, it's hard to say president obama didn't get a victory here in that he broke a republican precedent that's been really firmly established, and that's the biggest thing as you look forward. now he's going to try to press republicans to support more tax increases. and that's a big change in how washington has been governed up to now. >> perry bacon, lynn sweet, thanks to both of you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> okay, so the bill's moving to the house, but republican

leaders haven't said exactly when it will come up for a vote. on the contrary, a statement from the four top republicans was careful to say they would allow members to review the legislation before deciding the next step. with me now, pennsylvania's democratic congressman jason altmire, who will complete his term in office this week. congressman, thanks for being with us. >> thank you for having me. happy new year. >> happy new year! well, yesterday afternoon before the senate bill was passed, you predicted the legislation that was taking shape would pass the house with a substantial majority. do you still think so? >> i do. i think it's going to get almost every democrat, maybe every democrat, and it's going to get probably half or near half of the republicans. as long as they bring the bill to pass the senate to the floor, that's really the issue. i can't imagine they would want to amend it and send it back to the senate and start the whole process over again, but they could think about doing that. absent that possibility, this is going to pass and we could have it on the president's desk as soon as tonight. >> you're a blue dog democrat, and as such, you tend to err on the side of fiscal restraint.

where are the spending cuts here? that's what the republicans and more conservative democrats are asking. >> the sequester was all about spending cuts. the republicans didn't like the type of spending cuts that were in there. there was a compromise made for $24 billion in immediate spending cuts split evenly between defense and nondefense programs, but the big fight over spending cuts is going to come in the budget season, which is nearly upon us. and when that debt ceiling vote hits again, probably in february or march. so, this discussion is by no means over, but we were facing a hard deadline of midnight last night. we had to get this bill done, and we're very close to doing it. >> the president made concess n concessions to republicans, even though as you pointed out, republicans didn't have a lot of leverage. in about two months, we run out of ways, as you point out, to avoid the debt limit, and that gives republicans potentially a lot of leverage. seeing what the president got out of this deal, what do you think it portends for what happens in march? >> i don't buy the argument that the president gave away too

much. i think he negotiated in good faith. it was a compromise that was made with folks who just don't have the same philosophical beliefs on either side of the table. and when you look going forward at the debt ceiling, the full faith and credit of the united states has never been compromised voluntarily. we've never done that. and the reason the full faith and credit of the united states means something is because we've never defaulted. and i just can't imagine that speaker boehner or any of the republicans would want to use that leverage in that way just to achieve political gain. >> as you look ahead, and obviously, you have a very different perspective, giving that you're moving on, what can possibly happen to change the intransigen intransigence, the bad feelings, the inability to work together that we have seen in congress? and i think it's worth pointing out, again, this has been the least popular, least effective congress since they've been keeping records. >> i think -- i could give you a long speech about the way that we elect partisans to office.

most of america is in the center. they want us to work together. they want us to get along. unfortunately, due to the way we draw districts and the way primaries are held, we end up generally electing people from the more extreme of the party rather than people from the center that can work together and get along. that's always been a problem in congress. it's only gotten worse in recent years. and as far as productivity, it has to do with divided government. we're not getting along very well because of what i've described. and moving forward, that is the political dynamic. we're going to have the same situation in the new congress that we have in this congress. president obama is still president. the senate is controlled by democrats, the republicans control the house. they have to find a way to work together for the good of the country. >> well, we can only hope so. congressman jason altmire, thank you so much. good luck, sir. happy new year. >> thank you. happy new year. the party to rival all parties last night. in new york city, hundreds of thousands packing new york's times square to watch the crystal ball drop and ring in the start of 2013. and believe me, they had to want to be there. it was cold!

♪

back to the fiscal cliff. all but five republican senators voted to pass the bill put together by senator mcconnell and vice president biden last night. among those voting in the affirmative, north dakota's republican senator john hoeven. senator hoeven, thank you for joining me. happy new year. >> happy new year, chris. >> you talked about the possibility for tax reform and social security reform. are you disappointed the senate couldn't come up with a bigger deal? >> i was pushing hard for a big deal that included tax reform, entitlement reform and savings, real savings to get on top of the deficit and the debt. but you know, we can't do the whole thing at once, let's get

as much done as we can. we've got to move forward. this is a big step on the tax piece. more work to do. we've got to get after it. >> you're one of just a handful of congressional republicans who did not sign the norquist antitax pledge, but do you think that the fact that we technically went over the cliff gives house republicans who have signed it kind of some political cover to back this bill which now, technically, cuts taxes, rather than raises them? >> this makes lower rates permanent. and without it, tax rates are going to go higher. and not just on regular earned income but capital gains and dividends and also the estate tax. so you know, this clearly, it was a key piece of legislation to keep tax rates lower for working americans and all households up to $450,000. >> do you have a good sense of what the feeling is on the republican side over in the house, senator? >> we had a big vote in the senate. you know, 89 votes, both parties in a big way bipartisan. that's what it takes to pass

something around here is a bipartisan effort. and so, i think they will pass it in the house. again, if we can't get the whole thing done at once, let's get it done in pieces, but let's get the job done. >> you know, you were quoted in "the new york times" as saying that you pushed for a big deal, but in this case, at this time, you could only get the tax piece done. you know what you said before. and so, you needed to do that. it was interesting, i thought the president said something similar, that these issues can be dealt with in stages, but how much optimism do you have about that? is every single thing going to be a down-to-the-wire fight? >> there is too much partisanship here, but we have got to find a way to work together. we have a responsibility to get things done for the american people, and -- >> with all due respect, senator, every member of congress who has come on this program over the last couple of days has said that, but how does it happen? >> you know, i work very hard to practice what i preach, and others have to do that, too. i bring a background as a governor working with both parties. solutions are imperfect.

that's always the case. but we have got to find ways to work together and move ahead. and look, we can't do it all at once, let's make as much progress each time as we can. >> do you have any sense that a new start, a new congress can make any difference at all? >> i hope so. i was hopeful that the election would kind of give us a new start and really put everyone in that mindset about getting things done, but we've got a real challenge with the deficit and debt, and now as we approach this debt ceiling, we have got to find ways to produce real savings and also reforms, entitlement reform to save those programs for the long term. >> senator john hoeven, thank you very much. it's good to see you on this new year's day. >> happy new year. thank you. still ahead on this special new year's edition of "msnbc live," secretary of state hillary clinton ringing in 2013 from a new york hospital. we'll have the latest on her condition as doctors treat a blood clot in her head. and new laws for the new year. more than 400 and counting. find out what's changing where you live. match for someone with big ideas.

with a new project in mind, some how-to knowledge to give us an edge, and more savings down every aisle. it only takes a few twists and turns for those bright ideas to make the new year even brighter. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. start fresh and save with hdx 20 gallon totes, a special buy at just $5.88 a piece.

i hate getting up in the morning. i love bread. i love cheese. did i say i love chocolate? i'm human! and the new weight watchers 360 program lets me be. the reason i'm still in this body feelin' so good isn't because i never go out and enjoy the extra large, extra cheese world we live in. it's because i do. and you can too. because when a weight loss program is built for human nature you can expect amazing. introducing the new weight watchers 360 program. join for free and expect amazing. because it works.

the new year, as always, ushering in a slew of new laws. more than 400 are now in effect dealing with everything from gay rights to health care to worker privacy. let's bring in "usa today" national reporter yamisha sindor to talk about some of these new laws. good morning and happy new year. >> happy new year. >> maryland became the ninth state to recognize same-sex marriage, although it didn't come easily, did it? >> no, the efforts began in 2011, but supporters were unable to get the legislature to have it come up to a vote, so in 2012, it was actually on the ballot and there it was passed and the governor signed it. so as of midnight yesterday -- or midnight today, people in maryland, same-sex couples in maryland began getting married. >> yeah, we saw some of them happening overnight. meantime, california and illinois both have new laws protecting the privacy of workers and job applicants. what's behind these new laws? >> i talked to one of the legislators behind it, nancy

campos. she told me that it's really about the idea that employers could intrude in the personal lives of their employees. she said that in normal times, your family photos, all of your gifts, all the things that happen away from work are private, but if you are asked for your facebook password, your employer can now intrude in your life. so, it's really about for them, for these lawmakers, closing that loop and making sure that workers can be private. >> meantime, alaska has a new law on the books when it comes to the treatment of autism. this is interesting. >> yes. since 2007, states have begun passing these laws where now if your child or if anybody's under 21, you can now be treated, diagnosed and basically with autism. so, there, you're having lawmakers looking at autism as something that's really affecting people and understanding that insurance companies really need to care for these people. >> yeah, there's always a lot of debate about when new things come on to the books about insurance, so that's an

important one. and also always on january 1st we end up talking about some of the more unusual new laws. there was a couple of them here. in illinois, motorcyclists can go through a red light if the light fails to change. i don't know by how quickly. florida, swamp buggies are no longer considered motor vehicles. burning issues in different parts of this country. right? >> yes. so, basically, in these instances, you have these laws to meet and show just the diversity of the united states. you have in florida, where some people are like, what is a swamp buggie? for me, i know -- >> i was just asked that and i don't know the answer. >> i'm from miami, so a swamp buggy is what some people use to get through the swampy areas of florida, including the everglad everglades, which is a huge attraction here. so that shows the diversity of the laws that you think, wait, why is this in effect? you understand some states really need to regulate their swamp buggies. >> "usa today's," miami's only

yamiche alcindor. happy new year. >> happy new year. we've been talking about it, the fiscal cliff deal's going down to the wire and neither side appears too happy with the result. is this business as usual in washington? plus, more details on the prognosis for secretary of state hillary clinton. and from binders full of women to clint eastwood's monologue, we look back at the year that was in politics with the dean of comedy. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup

but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ female announcer ] for everything your face has to face. face it with puffs ultra soft & strong. puffs has soft, air-fluffed pillows for 40% more cushiony thickness. face every day with puffs softness. in just a few hours, the house does come back into session. we expect them to take up that new senate fiscal cliff bill that was passed in the wee hours of the morning. but a lot of democrats and republicans are kind of holding their noses this morning. >> it does not address the number one priority, creating good middle class jobs now. >> i don't love it, but i think it is a very good job of negotiating where there are some

wins and some losses, and it's about even. >> it's not even a small ball, it's a ping pong ball of a proposal. so, i think it's awful. >> let's bring in jonathan clicho, communications director of "american crossroads," also democratic strategist richard goodstein. happy new year, guys. good morning. >> same to you, chris. >> happy new year, chris. >> what do you think of this deal? >> look, having everybody on both sides belly ache about it is going to be the name of the game for a couple reasons. one, we have a divided government. people shouldn't kid themselves when the republicans are controlling the house, democrats control the senate and the white house. this is going to be the new normal, and it has been. we've seen anything that's gotten done over the past two years follow this exact same format. remember back to 2010, exactly two years ago, where we had certain rates that were extended or the bush rates, but the president got a lot of things out of that as well. so, people have to keep in mind, this is not any kind of departure from the norm. think back to the clinton

welfare reform bill. >> yes, i agree with that. 2009, the health care overhaul. you had $858 billion tax package in 2010, the payroll taxes in 2011. having said that, jonathan, how much longer can congress continue to function like this? >> well, i think one of the reasons why nobody's really happy with the deal, not like a gut level. everybody recognizes there was some masterful negotiation going on between the vice president and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, but nobody's like genuinely happy with it because we know we're just kind of kicking the can down the road for another two months. we're still going to have to deal with all the spending cuts that are the driver of the deficit and we'll have this fight again in february or march when we have to go to the debt limit, deal with sequestration and really look at what the president offers in terms of reforming entitlements. that's where we'll really have deficit savings. remember, we're in nickel right now because we're trying to deal with the deficit and long-term debt problems, not just fix a little area in the tax code. >> richard, would you agree that

we're really just looking at the tip of the iceberg here? i mean, if we thought this was a difficult negotiation, you ain't seen nothing yet? >> yes, well, can we concede on the air that this whole fiscal cliff business was overhyped, that we knew that the world was going to look basically the same today and tomorrow and the next day, even if it didn't get done, as it did yesterday, but -- >> but do you think -- >> the debt ceiling's a different -- >> do you think that people who thought there could be a grand bargain were kidding us or kidding themselves? >> i think that they were kidding themselves down the stretch that we had any hope of getting anything big because there wasn't talk about anything big. frankly, the debt ceiling's not going to be that either. i know that the republicans are basically now saying, okay, we've got to start the clock again. i'm waiting for that to be in the lower corner of the msnbc screen, the clock until the debt ceiling expires, because that's real. that's when the full faith and credit of the u.s. is at stake. remember, we had 18 debt ceiling increases under reagan. this is only new by virtue of

the current republican house forcing this issue on the whole country and bringing us to the precipice. the business community's dead set against it. that's actually going to be the real test. i look forward to having this discussion with you then, chris. then the stakes will really be high. >> jonathan, let me ask you about some of the political implications, especially as we're looking forward to the house vote, because among those who voted no on the senate side, we saw marco rubio, and some people questioning whether 2016 had anything to do with that. how do you think paul ryan's going to vote on this? >> that's a very, very good question, and i wish i had some wisdom to share with you. you also have to remember there will be a lot of new members of congress that will have to deal with whether or not they consider this to be a tax increase. grover norquist has said voting for this is not a tax increase because the taxes are technically higher right now and this would actually be a tax cut, so -- >> but didn't you think the whole thing was sort of a joke? i mean, when you parse that kind of stuff, oh, it's not really -- i mean, really? really? >> i know the republicans for

decades have been burned whenever they've gone and raised taxes and they've been promised spending cuts and they never materialize. so, this is a very, very sore spot for republicans. they don't want to have to vote for a tax increase and then not get anything in return on the spending side, and we have not seen any real kind of offer from the president on spending. and i think that that's where the rubber's really going to hit the road in a couple months. >> jonathan collegeo and. right now secretary of state hillary clinton is said to be in good spirits, resting comfortably in a new york hospital, undergoing treatment for a blood clot. doctors told us yesterday that that clot is located in a vein between her skull and her brain, just behind her right ear. nbc news chief science and health correspondent robert bazell is here with more on her condition. and when they put a statement out yesterday, you know, they said she was in good spirits, that she was communicating well with her doctors, no sign of a stroke. it all seemed to be very positive, but what are the concerns right now? >> well, the concerns are that the clot doesn't get completely

dissolved. there is no indication that that's not happening. what she had was a consequence of a concussion that she got from a fall a few weeks ago. you can see on the graphic there where the spot of the blockage is. this is a vein that drains blood from the brain into the rest of the body. and if the clot is not taken care of, the danger is that that red spot can grow and go back into the brain and cause some kind of stroke or ocollusion of the circulation to the brain. that did not happen. they say they've done extensive neurological tests on her and these tests all indicate that she's perfectly in good shape. she can speak well, she can move well, all these things that are so critical and that somebody in this condition, according to the many experts i've spoken to, is in the hospital for a few days, they have to be on blood thinners for a long time. >> and they have to sort of figure out what's the right amount, right? >> right. it's not easy to put someone on blood thinners.

it has to be done directly, get exactly the right dose, so it's not too much so she has a danger of an excess bleed, but it's got to be enough to control the danger of clotting in the future, and that's the balance that they need to strike. but that's what's going on now. that happens with millions of people a year in the united states for all kinds of conditions that create blood clots, and she should be just fine from now on if anything we're hearing is true. >> bob bazell, thank you so much for that update. >> thank you. meantime, some big changes in health care coming this year you might not know about. they include everything from paying more to medicaid doctors to an increase in medicare taxes. "washington post" health and policy reporter sarah cliff recently wrote about this, and she joins me now. good morning. happy new year. >> good morning, chris. >> you mentioned five significant things that people will see changes in, in terms of u.s. health care coverage. tell us about them. >> well, you know, we're going to see more spending in health care, and this is something we've gotten used to year after year, and i think people see this in their premiums. health care gets more expensive,

and that would be true with or without president obama's health care overhaul, but there are a lot of changes in that overhaul. the first is new medicare taxes. folks who earn more than $200,000 or $250,000 as joint filers, they're going to see some increases in the taxes they pay to pay for medicare. another big change is how we pay medicaid doctors. those are the folks who participate in the program to see low-income americans. they're going to get a big pay raise. everyday americans are going to see a change with their insurance plans as the health care law requires insurers to explain their plans in really easy-to-read summaries. no more of the ten-point font, ten-page summaries. and the last change to expect are the big exchanges, the new marketplaces to buy insurance, those are part of the health care law and those are going to be up and running near the end of this year. >> that's a question i get a lot, because there was debate about whether or not states would do these exchanges, and a lot of them sort of opted out

and it goes to the federal government. what will that actually look like? what will people see? >> you know, the best way to picture it, what i think of is kind of an expedia for health insurance, where you can go online, enter in maybe your age, your gender, a few other, you know, small factors. you're going to get some options for, you know, what insurance will cover, how much it will cost, and then you'll be able to actually buy an insurance plan. and the idea is to make insurance shopping easy, which it really isn't right now. it's really difficult to shop for plans anded wi ed wiwade th. it may not be as easy as buying a plane ticket, but the goal is to get closer to that. >> let's talk about how this impacts average taxpayers who are looking for health care now and before the affordable care act fully goes into effect. >> the biggest change will happen at the end of year. on january 1st, 2014, subsidies are allowed for anyone who learns less than 400% of the poverty line. that's a little less than $50,000 for an individual. they'll have access to new federal subsidies to help them

buy insurance coverage. that's going to be a big change. those changes don't roll out until january 1st, 2014, so really a lot of what's happening this year is kind of laying the groundwork for the insurance system to expand to, you know, carry all those other people that we expect to join. >> well, it's going to be an interesting year, is it not? because i think a lot of people are a little bit intimidated by exactly what's going to be going on. thanks so much for being with us and happy new year. >> thank you. you, too. could it be the end of 2012's most talked about dance craze? while rocking with mc hammer and others, korean rapper psy hinted to us that he is ready for something new. >> i've seen some rumors that tonight you're going to retire the dance. is that the case? >> not to retire, but you know, kind of, because i'm getting ready for the new one, but you know, i still get a lot of calls for "gangnam style." so, but you know, i cannot just,

you know, stay here. i've got to move forward. so, i'm working on a new thing. but if i keep doing this and then, you know, it can, you know, ruin my creative, so i'm saying that, but i won't. >> never. ad those moments. when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. [ sighs ] thanks! [ male announcer ] you're welcome.

that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] to learn more about the cold truth and save $1 visit alka-seltzer on facebook. i went to a number of women's groups and said can you help us find folks? and they brought us whole binders full of women. >> what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. can't do that to himself. [ laughter ] >> two unforgettable and, shall we say, unusual political moments of the year, ones that still resonate with a lot of americans, even those who are happy to bid farewell to the political year 2012. so, what other lessons did we get from the year that was? joining me now with a unique perspective on this and other topics, political comedian dino ma dahlia, also known as the dean of comedy. good morning. >> good morning, happy new year. >> lots to talk about, but

first, your take on the fiscal cliff. >> isn't congress great? yesterday nbc had a poll, they had a 11% approval rating. the more shocking part is who are the 11% who think they're doing a good job? how low are their standards to think that congress -- this is the most dysfunctional group of people. we have to put them in couples therapy with dr. phil, dr. doolittle. i'm not sure who can help them. >> i'm not sure. >> we suffer as a result of their bipartisanship. >> we talked about the binders full of women, clint eastwood with the chair. general david petraeus. >> that was a big one, although in clint eastwood's defense, he made it okay to talk to your chair on national television. i've had conversations with my couch now as a result. >> you have? what do you say to your couch? >> we're close. i need more friends, apparently. i have to get on facebook and talk to more people. but it became james bond meets "the real housewives." you had the cia director, the top spy, his affair was uncovered. affairs are wrong, but if you're

the top spy, keep this secret! you're failing us as cia director if you can't keep your affairs secret. >> all right, i don't know if you saw it coming in, but now psy, who of course is "gangnam style," says he would like to be able to move on creatively. you know, you can understand that. >> sure, you can. i've been doing the same jokes as a comedian for 15 years. psy, this is your big hit, keep riding this! this is like "the macarena" or chicken dance. it will be around forever. and we all learned korean, gangnam means south of the river. so if you're ever in korea -- >> that is the extent of my korean knowledge. what are you looking forward to most, dean of comedy, in 2013? >> i'm looking forward to congress getting their act together and doing good work. >> first of all, that's hilarious, okay. >> wouldn't we love that? i'm looking forward to a happy, healthy new year i think for hopefully my family and everyone watching. >> yes, and we've been having a very heated disagreement coming into what's cold.

i think it was freezing out last night and this morning, and you obviously have extraordinary powers. >> i think it was actually really nice. maybe it's my comedy armor that i use not to deal with people. it was fine last night, and today's a good day here in new york. >> and let me ask you about comedy itself. we had brian balthazar on earlier, talking about some of the broadcomdays coming out. is comedy basically always the same or will we see more things in 2013? >> i think it evolves. i think the sensibilities of audiences in america's evolving. the old sitcoms, think about the '80s sitcoms to today, it's become much more single camera, a more driven nuance, so i think comedy is growing for best and political comedy, last year was a pretty good year. >> a pretty good year? >> it was. >> it was a gift! it was a gift! >> it was, but compared to the golden years of george bush. you have to understand, that man, he taught us you don't even have to speak english to be president! this is great. it was a comedian that kept giving. i hope this year congress will

be giving us material, but people don't focus on that that much. in the clubs, people aren't talking about the fiscal cliff. media is, political people are, but the average person until their paycheck is affected, they're not talking about this issue so much. >> i wish you binders full of women, my friend. >> thank you. >> the dean of comedy. still ahead, charting the road to a happier, healthier new year. the president's council on physical fitness is on board. are you up to the challenge? and at the top of the hour, the fiscal cliff showdown. will house republicans approve or try to alter the senate's last-minute deal? we just got this note that house republicans will be meeting at 1:00 p.m. to talk about those fiscal cliff negotiations. stay with us here on msnbc.

pope benedict benedict hopes peace will prevail in 2013, despite recent acts of terrorism and instability in the world economy. there you see the pontiff this morning celebrating new year's mass at st. peter's basilica. organizers in southern california applied the finishing

touches to the mobile flower arrangements that will make up the 124th tournament of roses parade. this year's grand marshal is the famed chimpanzee researcher jane gooda goodall. you can watch the parade beginning at 11:00 a.m. eastern on your local nbc station. well, he's not only the commander in chief, he is also first in fitness. president obama is out to promote physical activity and healthy living by awarding citizens who stick to a six-week health and exercise program, something called the presidential active lifestyle award. health and fitness expert donna richardson joyner is not only a member of the president's council on fitness, sports and nutrition, she is author of the book "witness to fitness." good morning and happy new year. >> good morning! happy new year to you, chris. >> all right, so, it's going to be a happy new year if we all achieve our goals. how does one achieve the goal of the presidential active lifestyle award? >> well, first, it just starts that you are first, it just sta you are committed. i believe a lot of people make new year's resolutions to lose the weight but that's just

getting started. the problem comes with trying to stick to it. i believe you cannot conquer when you're not committed to moving forward. this president's challenge is challenging america to get healthy, be physically active. for adults you get to do 30 minutes of activity five days a week and for kids 60 minutes of activity five days a week. at the end of the six weeks you will earn your presidential award. >> i remember when i was a kid, i'm dating myself, there was a president's council on physical fitness and you had to do so many pushups and situps and that kind of stuff. here's the thing. we all have our good new year's resolutions. >> yes. >> millions will start and millions will fail. so you wrote a book about this. is there anything you can tell people to help them increase their odds of success? >> yes. i just believe that you have to first be a witness to your health and to your well being. you have to remember, change does not occur on the outside until it's manifested on the

inside. the book really talks about first transforming your mind, that means if you change your thinking, your actions will follow. and change won't occur, chris, until you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. the second part is about living in the spirit. you have to believe in your heart and in your spirit that all things are possible and when you have the renewing of your mind, partner with your belief or your faith, it just adds more purpose and meaning to your goals. and the third piece is you have to feed your body and soul every day with physical activity and good nutrition. >> do we know -- this is a six-week program. i know there's been research on this but once you get to a certain point, let's say you start. >> yes. >> if you keep it going for six weeks are you much more likely to make it a permanent lifestyle change? what is it that finally makes it a part of a person's daily routine? because i have to admit, i've never been one of those people who -- >> yes. >> i know people who wake up and say i can't even think about starting my day without running ten miles. >> right. >> i've never felt that need to

do it but is there a point at which the habit kicks in? >> yeah. i think what happens is you've got to really focus on letting go of the bad habits and really working every day and each week, really forming new habits so that you can be successful. and it's really about you just really starting with changing your thinking. you have to want to change more than you want to stay the same. so i think it's just you believing it enough and knowing that there is going to be times, look. we have trainers and they push us to the end and you're just trying to suck up wind to finish that work out or you're on the stair master and you have five minutes more to go. i believe that little extra something, that pushes you forward, that pushes you over that mountain, is you having that faith and having that belief in something that is greater than you. >> how much do role models make a difference do you think? we look at a lot of people in hollywood. >> yes. >> but if i have heard one comment more than anything in terms of physical appearance over the last couple years. >> yes. >> it's don't you wish you had

michelle obama's arms? >> she has beautiful arms. but you know what? concentrate on your assets. i know a lot of times we're focused on other people but you have to be the best that you can be. and i think that it's a distraction when you're focusing on other people and not turning that love and energy and investment into yourself. when you think about faith and food and you think about just being very great at what you're doing then you can be successful. you can sew good seeds so you can reap a healthy return. >> what is your new year's resolution? do you have one? >> my new year's resolution is i'm pumped up and powered up to continue to inspire and encourage millions of americans to have better health, mind, body, and soul. >> donna richardson joyner thank you so much. great talking to you. >> thank you chris. happy new year. let's get strong and lean in 2013. >> i like that. strong and lean in 2013. >> thank you. >> thank you. from fireworks displays to

ancient traditions, polar plunges, people around the world mark the beginning of 2013 in unique ways. let's take a look at the celebrations. >> reporter: the first major city to celebrate 2013 was aukland, new zealand. fireworks and bull horns rang in the new year. in australia, a seven-ton fireworks display dazzled hundreds of thousands in sydney with an estimated 1 billion people watching on tv worldwide. a large crowd counted down to the new year in shanghai, china. while in tokyo, japan, buddhist monks rang bells to cleanse sins. nato soldiers serving in afghanistan took time to let loose and dance their way into 2013. nato has more than 100,000 soldiers serving in afghanistan including some 66,000 u.s. forces. in central russia these brave

souls took an icy dip to greet the new year. the water temperature? a very brisk 37 degrees. while in the united a-emirates the world's tallest building set the stage for a giant celebration. in paris tens of thousands celebrated at the eiffel tower while in london big ben rang out the old and rang in the new. and the tradition continued in the big apple. tens of thousands crammed into times square to officially welcome 2013. >> isn't that sweet? there is much more news coming your way. we are going to continue to follow developments on the fiscal cliff. mara schiavocampo is next. once again the house caucus going in at 1:00 this afternoon. i'm chris jansing. see you back here tomorrow at 10:00 a am eastern for jansing & company.

have a happy new year. i have lost 101 lbs on weight watchers online. i just got started and i'm like "hey, that first 20 came off, well it wasn't too hard at all." i love breads. you can still eat bread. i love my sweets. i can still have a cookie on weight watchers. i love the barcode scanner. occasionally, i'll use it at the bar. of course! that's what it's for, right? bar code. oh i think i'm never going there again. i feel healthy. and just...young again. [ female announcer ] weight watchers online. the power of weight watchers completely online. join for free today.

i'm here to unleash my inner cowboy... instead i got heartburn. [ horse neighs ] hold up partner. prilosec isn't for fast relief.